John Fogerty in Concert

John Fogerty at Radio City was one of the best concerts that I have ever been to. With his brother Tom, Doug Clifford and Stu Cook, John Fogerty formrd the formidable Creedence Clearwater Revival. In CCR, John was the lead gutarist, singer and principal songwriter. Between 1968 and 1972, CCR had nine top ten singles and eight gold albums. In 1993 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Born in Berkeley, California in 1945, he grew up in El Cerrito, California. In 1966, Fogerty received a draft notice and served in the military during the Vietnam War. Many of his songs are based on the "Hippie Era" and the effects of the long war. Even though Fogerty is a liberal, it was thankful that he did not incorporate any social justice crap in the concert last night. In fact, his entire band was white and together they were all extremely tight all evening, banging out one great song after another.

With six children from two marriages, sons Shane and Tyler appear with their father in concert. Fogerty appears to be satisfied with his life and his accomplishments. A very humble man, he told the audience how grateful he is to get his songs back; he now fully owns them. He gave a video heartfelt introduction before he came on last night. Thankful and appreciative, he thanked his fans and his family.

The concert opened with "Bad Moon Rising- strong and fluid, it was a great choice to open with. The whinny, hard cords of "Up Around the Bend" was the second song and one of the evenings best. "Green River" and "Born on the Bayou" the evenings third and forth songs were soulful and hip. In "Who'll Stop the Rain" brought the crowd to the edge of its seats. An upbeat version of this song gave it an alternative sound.

"It Came Out of the Sky", "Effigy" and "Joy of My Life" are not really popular songs, yet Fogerty's energy, his great vocal range still made the three songs enjoyable enough and kept the crowd interested. Afterwards, Fogerty rounded out the concert with one great song after another. "Rock and Roll Girls" was tremendous, it sent his voice into a whirlwind proving once again that he still is a great singer and entertainer. "Keep On Chooglin' was maybe the most entertaing song of the night. Deep and blusey, this song is at the heart of CCR's genre and psychy.

As the evening rounded out, "Have You Ever Seen Rain" was probably the best fan favorite. This song more than any other brought the crowd to its feet. It was here that Radio City Music Hall came to full life. Fogerty followed this song with his playful tribute to baseball with his Centerfield. Both "Rock and Roll Girls"and "Centerfield" were written in the mid 80's.

I questioned why "The Old Man Down The Road" was played during the concerts finality songs. While it's a great song, it doesn't have the energy that many of his songs have; I thought that he could have chosen a better song here. The same can be said with "Proud Mary" as the evenings final song. Again, "Proud" is a great song, but not the best to end the concert. The evenings final song before encore was "Fortunate Son", a true energetic song with the fanfare to boot. Like "Have You Ever Seen Rain", "Fortunate Son" brought the crowd to its feet with raptuous singing by the audience and applause at the songs conclusion. "Down on the Corner", the concerts first encore was fantastic. The melodies were terrific and well done.

In the late 60's, early 70's, CCR ran neck and neck with the Beatles as far as record sales and popularity. Arguably the best American band, John Fogerty in his youth brought unbelivable energy to his guitar playing and singing; he was almost unparaleled in this regard. Today, Fogerty still bring that same energy to his concerts. It is evident that he still loves what he does!

John Fogerty, CCR, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Radio City, New York City, New York, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Beatles, America, "Proud Mary", "Fortunate Son", Madison Square Garden.